A Seed

And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.

John 12:23–26 (RSV)

Iowans who have had any connection with the land will know that you must plant seeds in the spring to have a good harvest. Spring planting is an act of faith as it lays the seed in the soil, hopeful that it will germinate, survive the rigors of the growing season until Fall. Then gather the bounty.

Jesus knew that His hour was at hand. He knew, like a seed, He must go down into death so that the great harvest of God could take place. Jesus was willing to lose His life in obedience to the Father's will, so the fruit of salvation would come.

There are voices in this age that speak against Jesus' death. They cannot see it as an act of love. They accuse the Father of child abuse, of sentencing His Son to death. They would refuse to plant a seed in the spring, choosing to lose the harvest.

Jesus trusted that the cross was how sin and death would be undone. Yes, God could have redeemed all things in any of ten thousand ways. He chose this act of self-giving love. Jesus, alive in the love of the Father, willing bore it all, like a seed in the springtime, went down into death.

We may not fully comprehend such love, blinded by human weakness and sin. As an Iowan who knows that the harvest cannot come unless the seed is planted, We know that our salvation is won through Jesus' death and resurrection.

Count as Loss?

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:7–11 (RSV)

If today, there came a knock at the door, with a question, "Do you confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God?" What would your answer be? Would this affect your answer: A 'yes' would subject you to arrest, torture and prison. All of your possessions, your home, and assets seized. Your family is placed under watch, questioned, and threatened.

How would you answer under those circumstances? I know how I would like to respond. I want to think I would have great courage and dedication to Christ to say, 'Yes confidently.'

But a 'yes' is easy sitting at my computer, cup of tea at hand, the protection of our Constitution assuring that this sort of thing will not happen here. It can and does happen in several places today. It was a reality as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians about what he had suffered for Christ.

As He called His disciples, Jesus warned them that as the world hated Him, it would turn its attention on them. The call to follow has been given to all who confess Jesus as Lord. What are you willing to sacrifice for His sake?

Hosanna!

And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant; and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them,

"Yes; have you never read,

'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings

thou hast brought perfect praise'?"

Matthew 21:14–16 (RSV)

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

and the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

and a little child shall lead them.

Isaiah 11:6 (RSV)

Seven centuries before children's voices praised God in the Temple at the coming of Jesus to Jerusalem, Isaiah spoke of the time when little children would lead God's people. What Isaiah foresaw, his spiritual descendants could not imagine possible.

They could not see the healings at Jesus' hand as a sign of God's mercy. Rather than hearing 'hosanna' as the fulfillment of ancient promises, they heard danger. They had spent so much time studying God that they could no longer see or hear God at work.

Jesus has come to Jerusalem to praises and pleas for the salvation of the people. He has come surrounded by signs of the Kingdom everywhere. Blind can see, the lame can walk, and children perfect praises to God the Father.

O Jerusalem now is the hour to hear and see that all the Father has promised. The day of redemption is now come among you at last! Will you not add your voices to the singing, 'Hosanna! Save Us Now!"?"

Jesus has come to Jerusalem for the healing of all enslaved by sin and death. He has come, and though Palm Sunday's praises will fade by Friday, tremendous praise will be sung come the First Day of the Week.

Jesus Wept

Jesus wept.

John 11:35 (RSV)

It is tucked in between all the passion, the anguish, the stench of death, and confusion at Bethany. As the tears tracked their way down Jesus' face, there was a division among the mourners. Where some saw Jesus' love for Lazarus, others saw indifference that waited too long to come to Bethany.

I know my tears. They come as my heart is weighed down with grief or when it is overwhelmed by joy. I understand weeping in sorrow, for I am helpless before our final enemy. I can love with all the love a human heart can know, and death still steals those I love. I know my tears.

Jesus' tears are at first a challenge to grasp. I know He is God incarnate. He had the confidence of the Father's heart as He prepared to call Lazarus from the dead. Jesus knew that all the weeping around Him would soon transform into joy. Jesus wept.

Why would Jesus not weep at the tomb of His friend? He is as human as any one of us. Jesus loved his friend, and His tears are the price we pay for love. Love suffers, dies as those we love suffer and die. The heart that loves aches for the beloved, even as the resurrection is close at hand.

Jesus will bear the sorrow of Lazarus' death. Jesus will weep with all who mourn as the Father grieves over everyone who must taste death. On the cross, Jesus will bear the sin of the world, and all the sorrow sin has inflicted on the Father's children.

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,

and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned every one to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:4–6 (RSV)

I am grateful for my tears. I thank God that Jesus wept and carried all my losses to the cross.

Life, Not Death

Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world."

John 11:17–27 (RSV)

There had been time for Jesus to come and heal his friend, Lazarus. Jesus was sent for while Lazarus still had days to live. Jesus delayed, Lazarus died and was buried. There was no time to wait. The dead were entombed within twenty-four hours of death. This was part of the Jewish custom, but it was also practical. Without embalming, a corpse would not last more than a few hours in the heat of Galilee.

Jesus is far too late. His friend has died. Broken-hearted Martha demands an explanation. Why Jesus? Where were you? What was so vital that you could not rush to Lazarus' side when we called you? None of this was necessary if you had only come.

More times than I care to remember, I have heard similar words on the lips of family and friends of the dead. They had prayed, pleaded with God to send a miracle, and none came. Now they are left with their sorrow and anger at a death that should not have been. Why Jesus, why did you not come?

It is not just the separation of death that wounds us. It is was death does to those we love. We know that it won't be long before the corruption of the flesh takes over. The face we loved and loved us in return will become unrecognizable. We know in time, perhaps only bones will remain, even they will be gone as the ages have passed.

All that death does to us brings fear to our hearts. We try not to imagine what will come, hating the very thought of what must be in the grave. Death appears at its most potent with all that it will do.

Like Martha, our hope in Jesus has run out, stretched to the breaking point and beyond. In the very place where death asserts its ugly power, Jesus speaks a word we so want to believe. 'I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even if the corruption of death has hold of them, will still live.

At the very place where death appears to at its zenith of power stands Jesus. Death may do horrible things to us, but it cannot prevent the life that Jesus is becoming our life in the age to come.

Yes, we will still hate and fear death for all the harm it brings. We will trust that Jesus is greater still, for He is the Resurrection and the Life. Even though we die, He gives us life.

Jesus Today

It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered round him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

John 10:22–30 (RSV)

If today, in 2021, Jesus was among us as He first was in the flesh, who would believe in Him? I suspect that it would go no better than it did two thousand years ago.

We like the idea of God, as long as He doesn't demand too much or get too involved in our lives. People often will say they want God close until He is, then we aren't so sure.

Jesus, the Incarnate God, alive among God's Chosen People, was treated with suspicion at nearly every turn. He came to the very people who had been anticipating the Messiah's arrival. As St. John notes, He came to His own, and His own would not receive Him.

Like the Jews of Jesus' day, we are too comfortable with who we think God should be. Ours is the greater responsibility as we live on the other side of the resurrection. We know Jesus is the Messiah, sent from the Father to restore all things to Himself.

The Jews could not believe it true that Jesus was the Son of God. They could not hear His shepherd's voice because of their unbelief. We know it to be true. We have the witness of the Church, from the Apostles to this hour. What is our excuse for living as if it were not true?

Jesus calls to us, longing that we attend to His voice and follow where He leads. He leads us into the depth of His love and mercy. He does this so we might live each day in His love and mercy. Let the truth of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection be our daily lives.

Preaching Christ

But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ. Romans 10:14–17 (RSV)

Preaching is half of a pastor's call. The Holy Sacraments complete the responsibility of the pastoral office. Pastors do many other things from Sunday to Sunday; most are important to the parish's life. A faithful pastor seeks to accomplish as much as possible for the blessing of the members.

Still, if all the pastor did was to prepare and deliver solid sermons and rightly administer the Holy Sacraments, they would be fulfilling their call.

Luther was clear that proclaiming the Gospel in Word and Sacraments lay at the very heart of the Christian faith.

The pastor understands that every sermon is a matter of life and death. The pastor is keenly aware that there always be someone who is aching to hear the Gospel. Every week, someone is in desperate need of hearing that Jesus is their Savior. They need to hear that they too can be saved, their sins are forgiven, and that hope in Christ is theirs as well.

The pastor gives hours in preparation for preaching. Their fervent prayer is the gift to make sense, to let Jesus shine through their stumbling words. Though they may feel the burden of preaching, it is offset by the joy that comes when our Risen is proclaimed.

You May Be Mistaken

And they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." The man answered, "Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if any one is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out.

John 9:28–34 (RSV)

'I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken.' Oliver Cromwell, 3 August 1650 to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

It was the 'bowels of Christ' that grabbed my attention. This was not the sort of thing we used when we spoke of Jesus in confirmation class. I know Pr. Jolivette never said anything close to that as he preached. It sounded blasphemous, but not quite.

Once I got over the shock of 'the bowels of Christ', I read the even more disturbing part of the statement, 'think it possible you may be mistaken.' Standing in the hallway outside my professor's office, my freshman self had an epiphany.

No matter how confident you might be on any given topic, it would help if you entertained the thought that you could be mistaken. It does not mean that you must be paralyzed by self-doubt at every turn. You could at least think that there might be something you do not know or understand.

The Jews could not let themselves imagine that Jesus' healing a blind man was a good thing. They grilled the man, again and again, looking for a flaw in the witness of his healing. The Jews had already determined that Jesus was a sinner. He had to be, for His actions did not square with what they knew God would do.

The Jews would not let themselves rejoice in the wonder of a blind man seeing God's creation. They had God so neatly boxed that not even the very glory of the Father at work in Jesus would sway them.

Rather than consider that they may be mistaken, they cast out the man for the 'sin' of believing in the One who had healed him. They rejected Jesus out of hand for the same reason.

It is an ongoing challenge to the Church not to be so sure that we know how God works in the world. True, God works through the means He has revealed to us in Word and Sacrament. It is also true that God is at work in ways we may not always understand.

The Church's history is full of people who thought they knew better than God, only to learn that they were indeed mistaken. God lifted them out of their error and set them on the path of the Gospel. It worked in the life of St. Paul. It can work for us.

Blindness

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. John 9:1–3 (RSV)

I hope the man who had been born blind was not within earshot of Jesus and His disciples. It may have been nothing new for him to hear, but it could not have been comforting, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

As if blindness from birth was not burdening enough, hearing the question, "Who sinned' had to hurt. Though he could not himself see, his blindness rendered him invisible to others. They would often talk as if not only was he blind, but deaf as well. Or they assumed that blindness made him deficient in thought and emotions. They could say cruel things as if blindness took away his humanity.

Cruelest of all was the automatic assumption that his blindness was God's punishment for some undisclosed sin. It is a sad trait of human nature to find fault in others, so we don't need to face our shortcomings. If I can divert your attention to a blind man, you may not look too closely at me.

Jesus did not see sin and darkness in the man. He saw a person, created in God's image, who would soon give glory to God. Where others saw only judgment, Jesus saw mercy and healing.

If all there is to our relationship with God is punishment for sin, who among us would remain whole. If God is only a righteous judge, would we all not perish in our mother's womb before we could see the light of day?

Thanks be to God, Jesus sees more than just our sin. He sees the ones whom the Father longs to save and redeem. As He healed the man born blind, He heals us of what sin does to us. Through Jesus, the glory of the Father shines upon and through us.

The Days Ahead

Greetings,

I discussed in my most recent video that I am reassessing how these daily writings and videos will function in the future.

I have been fully vaccinated and am confident that I pose a minimal risk to anyone I see or to myself. This means that I will return to the pastoral activities that the pandemic has set aside.

Of course, more regular pastoral activities will mean less time to produce the daily devotions and videos. I have given more thought to how to best adjust this ministry.

My best thinking in the future is this: I will continue to write the daily devotions and publish them each morning. The Scriptures I use are part of my regular devotions, and it is my habit to write about the texts. Thus, it isn't any additional work for me to continue the written devotions.

The video devotions take more time and work. There is planning the topic, researching the topic so I know what I am talking about, shooting the video (often multiple takes), and then editing the video. 

I do not wish to stop the videos completely, as folk find them useful. My plan for the future video work will be daily videos through Easter Monday. After Easter, I will produce videos on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 

I want to use the videos through Easter as there is much benefit to be gained from daily offerings. I have usually taken a few days off after Easter, so I will restart the videos on Monday, April 12.

I pray that this will be acceptable and useful for you. I thank God that He has provided the technology that has helped pastors staying in touch with their parishes.

The Spirit Prays

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Romans 8:26–27 (RSV)

In the small hours of the morning of October 18, 1977, our daughter Elizabeth was born beautiful and alert. I have in my mind's eye her face as she beheld the world in which she had been born.

A few minutes later, her sister Sarah was born. She was blue. It is vivid in my memory the doctor lifting her arm and watching it fall lifelessly to the table. I was frozen in anguish and fear. I wanted to pray, plead with God for the life of my child. A million words pent up in my heart could not find my voice. I heard myself say, 'Please!'

There was no more desperate prayer ever offered in my life and, in my mind, never more inadequate a prayer. 'For we do not know how to pray as we ought,' was the truth of that terrible moment. I could not pray for my child as she lay before my eyes, blue and breathless.

Miracles take place even before we realize they are happening. A miracle of prayer was offered, not in my voice, but by the Spirit whose presence tapped the well of my heart, flooding the Throne of the Father with the prayer I could not make.

God provided talented and competent doctors, nurses, and others whose gifts were employed in less time than it takes to tell. Sarah was breathing, pink and beautiful.

The sighs of the Spirit that morning all those years ago have been with me in countless circumstances. The comfort of those Spirit offered prayers has maintained my soul in many times and places where prayers could not come.

The Father's love is such that we need never fear that our prayers might not be adequate. Even the most faltering syllables of our souls become glorious by the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Father's Tears

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:35–40 (RSV)

We have read through some of Isaiah and Jeremiah in confirmation recently. I want more time to spend with the prophets of God, but it is not to be. The words of the prophets of God ring like some of the words in the Revelation of St. John, full of God's wrath and judgment.

Yes, those images and words are there. God's anger at the unfaithfulness of His Chose People is real. No one will dispute this to be on the lips of Isaiah and Jeremiah. God is justified in His displeasure at the rebellious, wayward hearts of the people He has chosen.

As in Revelation, the consequences of rebellion will fall upon the people who have chosen it. On the last day, there will be those who have heard God's Word and turned away. Scripture warns on that day they will hear our Lord say to them, "Depart from me, I do not know you."

It troubles me when I hear folk speak of that moment with satisfaction as they are confident those words do not apply to them. They seem to delight in the suffering of the lost. Yes, they turned away from the Father. True, God warned them that this could be their fate.

All that is true, but the Father has no joy in anyone who is lost. We may say they deserve the fires of hell. The Father sees His child refusing the Father's love. His heart aches over all who choose their own will over the love of the Father.

St. John teaches us that the Father will wipe away our tears. I look so forward to that day when all my sorrows are gone. It is on my heart that as the Father is wiping my tears, He will shed tears for those who only wanted themselves.

Loaves and Fishes

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?" John 6:1–9 (RSV)

Philip and Peter gaze at the multitude before them, trying to grasp what Jesus has told them to do. Philip's quick calculation arrived at two-thirds of a year's wages would not be enough to provide crumbs for them all.

With no lunch of their own to offer, Peter spies a boy whose mother thought ahead, sending a meal with him. Five poor folk loaves and two dried fish was a laughable suggestion for so many hungry mouths. "But what are they among so many?" As he suggested it, Peter knew that the boy's loaves and fish were woefully inadequate.

You and I know how this ends. Jesus takes what the boy has, blesses them, thanking God, and feeds the multitude. When done, each of the disciples had a basket full of bread leftover, twelve in all. So taken with the miracle, the grateful crowd would have made Jesus their Bread King. He walked away from that honor.

Jesus, who is the Bread of Life, could cast His gaze over the whole of creation, from its beginning to its final hour, and asked, "How are we to redeem these people so that they may know salvation?"

A calculation of all the earth's treasure would realize that not one person would have atonement for sin. Another might note, "Here is Jesus, the only Son of God, but what is He against so much sin and death?"

Weighed down by sin, our hearts cannot imagine anyone coming to the Father on their own with any hope of redemption. And we would be right, for we have even less to offer God for our sins than did the boy who had five loaves and two fish for the hungry thousands.

On the cross, Jesus does what no one could imagine could be done. His death and resurrection are the life of all things. The Father's grace is abundant beyond measure, extended to all who hunger and thirst for salvation. Jesus is the Living Bread that satisfies all who receive it.

Free from Lies

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 (RSV)

She could see that the fruit was good to eat. It had a beauty that caused words to fail. Tasting it would complete who she knew she was created to be. Her hand reached, touched, and picked the fruit. It was delightful, more than she could have imagined. Raising it to her lips, teeth breaking the fruit's skin, in that instant, she realized the lie.

Eve ate the fruit forbidden by God. She traded the Father's Truth for a lie. She had allowed herself to think that she was incomplete, partially human. Grasping the fruit, biting deeply, would make her whole, even god-like.

She traded all she ever would need for a lie. She sold the love and mercy of God for the emptiness of sin. The freedom she thought she deserved became slavery, bondage to sin, and death.

The lie never changes. It is the same in every generation, 'you shall be like God!' Oh, it comes in different forms, cleverly disguising itself until we, too, have sunk our teeth deep. Then we can see the lie, see it with the clarity hell would afford. Like Eve, at that moment when she thought herself truly free, we are lost, ashamed of our existence.

Jesus is our freedom. He is the unwavering Truth. The evil one's lie cannot stand before Him. Jesus exposes the lie we choose as our master. He will not let it enslave us. He pours out His lifeblood on the Cross, dies, descending into the realm of lies to triumph over the father of lies.

His resurrection is the Truth. It is our freedom. By the Father's grace, we can see the lie for what it is. He sets us free from its slavery. In Jesus is the only freedom that has any meaning. We are free to live in the Father, now and forever.

I AM

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?" Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad." The Jews then said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." John 8:53–58 (RSV)

Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " Exodus 3:13–14 (RSV)

C. S. Lewis, the Christian author, and apologist, once noted that: "Jesus is either a lunatic (or worse), or He is who He says He is.

There is no way that the Jews listening to Jesus did not get what He had just said. They may not have believed their ears at first, but it soon was all too clear, Jesus had called Himself by the Name.

You may have noticed in the Old Testament places where the word LORD appears in all capital letters. God's people had become so concerned about misusing God's Name that whenever they came upon it as they read, they would say 'Lord', rather than I AM.

For Jesus to say, 'Before Abraham was, I am.' could not be misunderstood. Jesus has claimed the divine Name for Himself. Those who heard Him would not have thought anything other than Jesus is a blasphemer. It lay beyond their ability to comprehend that Jesus could be God.

We stand at the far end of the equation. We would say, 'Of course, Jesus is God! How could He be anything else?' We struggle with Jesus being a human. We prefer Him only divine.

Neither place is where we would find life with the Father. Like the Jews, those who cannot imagine God to act in any other way than we like will not believe Jesus' witness to the Truth. Those who are too comfortable with Jesus also refuse to believe in His divine nature, which redeems us all.

As Luther pointed out: "We cannot know or feel saved, we can only believe it." We confess Jesus to be true God and true Man. We need not comprehend this Truth. We believe it.

Baptism

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:3–5 (RSV)

The grammar checker I use for my writing will complain that there are too many passive verbs in this passage of St. Paul's letter to the Romans. "Have been baptized," "were buried," "have been united," all are passive, in that we are not the ones acting.

St. Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, has it right. When we are baptized, we bring absolutely nothing to the waters. The sacraments remind us that it is God who brings salvation to us. There is no moment when we become partners with God where He accepts our efforts as part of salvation.

We were baptized into Jesus' death. We contributed to His death by our sin. We did that with reckless abandon. God the Father takes our rebellion, our sin, to the cross upon which hung His only Son.

Jesus carries us into death so that we might be made alive in Him. The Father's glory has raised Jesus from the dead. Our baptism joins us to the death and resurrection of our Lord.

We can only receive the mercy the Father gives through His Son. Thus the waters of Baptism and the promise of new life all flow from God.

Freedom

Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John 8:31–32 (RSV)

April 6, 1917, the United States entering the First World War by declaring war on Germany. Not long after that, German-speaking congregations across the country were forced to give up worship in German. Their freedom of speech was taken from them out of fear of an enemy an ocean away.

March 31, 1942, just short of four months after the Pearl Harbor attack, Americans of Japanese ancestry were ordered to register for removal to internment camps. Fear and hatred for an enemy an ocean away took from American citizens their freedom.

Generations of Africans were stolen from their homes to become slaves in the New World out of the ignorance that claimed their lives weren't as valuable.

Freedom is a fragile thing if not carefully guarded by an entire nation. History has shown that freedom can be snatched away at the barrel of a gun, the stroke of a pen, or the bigotry of a twisted mind. We should have no peace in our hearts if one person in our country is denied the fundamental freedom each citizen is entitled to receive.

Our freedom is rooted in Christ. The freedom of our neighbor is found in Him as well. In the Truth that is our Lord Jesus, sin, death, and the power of the devil no longer hold sway over us. Our freedom in Christ enables us to strive for the freedom of all.

Free in Christ, we can confront the powers and principalities that would enslave the world, exposing them for what they are. We can name the sin that would deny the freedom to have abundant life for everyone.

In Christ, there is no fear of the other. In Christ, there is no need to treat someone as less of a Child of God than ourselves. In Christ, all have been set free from sin and death. In Christ's love, we can use our freedom in Him to protect our neighbor's freedom.

God's Mercy

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation. Romans 5:1–11 (RSV)

Some passages of Scripture are to the soul as a cool drink is to a thirsty man. St. Paul's witness in Romans 5 is a joy to read for it gives boundless hope to sinners.

Anyone who is remotely honest with themselves must acknowledge that sin is at work in their lives. When we see God's holiness and righteousness, it is clear that it is not possible for us to move toward salvation. St. Paul lays out the truth that we are weak, ungodly enemies of God.

We are helpless, without hope beyond the grave. It is our Lord Jesus who steps down into our weakness, takes upon Himself our ungodliness, and by His rising from the dead, restores us to God's beloved children.

St. Paul reminds us that now that we are reconciled to God, we are free to live in Him, rejoicing daily for so great a salvation.

O most blessed and merciful Father, whose love is poured out on sinners in the life, death, and resurrection of your Son, continue to raise us to our new life in You. Amen.

Cancel Culture

The officers then went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why did you not bring him?" The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this man!" The Pharisees answered them, "Are you led astray, you also? Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, who do not know the law, are accursed." Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" They replied, "Are you from Galilee too? Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee." John 7:45–52 (RSV)

'Cancel Culture' is a current term to describe the practice of using social media to silence people with whom you disagree. It can range from hostile reactions to a Facebook post to getting people fired for holding the 'wrong' opinions. It is a childish, school-yard bully tactic to avoid considering the thoughts of others. Sadly, it works.

It is nothing new as human beings have always found ways to silence those who hold ideas contrary to the ones they espouse. We are fearful that what we think and believe may not be accurate or even true. Rather than stop to consider the ideas of others, we want to shut them up.

Nicodemus had gone to Jesus to understand who Jesus is and what He was teaching. It was not easy for Nicodemus as Jesus challenged his thinking about God. Nicodemus learned from Jesus, growing in his understanding of God's will and purpose to his credit.

Not long after, the Pharisees and chief priests were upbraiding the soldiers they had sent to arrest Jesus. Instead, they were struck by the power of Jesus' words. The Pharisees immediately 'canceled' the soldiers for not having the 'correct' thoughts about Jesus.

Nicodemus broke in with a just and sensible suggestion; 'Why not listen to Jesus, hear what He has to say before we condemn Him?' The Pharisees and chief priests canceled Nicodemus on the spot. They knew that God only acts the way they had decided God would work. There was no room for any other opinion or idea about Jesus.

We are called to guard the faith as delivered to us by the Apostles. We should take care, so the witness of the Gospel is correctly proclaimed. It does not mean that we automatically reject any different thoughts about Jesus. We are to test them, comparing them to the witness of the Saints and Apostles.

God sent Luther to renew the Church, and though many in authority in the Church of his day sought to 'cancel' Luther, God opens hearts and minds to the Word. We are to continue to seek after the Truth about our Lord. Thankfully, we receive new insights into God's will and purpose. We are correcting those whose ideas have strayed from the faith, doing so in gentleness.

Our goal is to continue to point to the Risen Lord. If a fresh insight can help us to do this, then we will welcome it. If an insight does not preach Christ, then out of love, we correct and admonish, so the brother or sister is restored.

Our God gave His Son to redeem the whole of creation, not to cancel sinners.

What We Know

Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, "Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? Yet we know where this man comes from; and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from." So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, "You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord; he who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me." John 7:25–29 (RSV)

Many years ago, as the eighth-grade confirmation class arrived, I wrote "God" on the blackboard. Once they had settled in for the lesson, I announced that there was a quiz. I pointed to the word "God" and told them to write at least one page on that topic.

There was a long, perplexed silence. Not one confirmand picked up a pencil or paper. After it seemed, to the confirmands at least, like an eternity, one of the more vocal students spoke: "How do you expect us to write about God?" It was the question I was seeking. How do you begin to write or talk about God?

We would need to begin by looking carefully at what we think we know. As we take the time to examine what we think we know thoughtfully, we will soon discover how little it is. If we are honest with ourselves, we have to confess such poor knowledge of God as to be nearly complete ignorance.

We see this often in Scripture where people think they know Jesus, either dismissing him as the Messiah or getting lost in unimportant details. Behind these misunderstandings of Jesus lie what we believe God should be doing. When we think that way, we often miss what God is doing.

We come closest to the heart and purpose of God when we stop trying to fit him into what we think he ought to be. When we become silent before the Father, when we set aside all we believe God is and should be, then we begin to see the mercy and grace at work in Jesus.

When we begin with who God the Father has revealed Jesus to be, we begin to understand him. However, as I tell my confirmands, it is their faith in Jesus that is closer to the heart of God than all our knowledge.